Certain recent models of automobile bodies at their rearward ends have been equipped with hatches pivoted at their upper ends to the roofs of the bodies and provided on their opposite sides with spring-pressed expansible struts for holding the hatch open while in its raised position during loading or unloading of the automobile body. With small automobile bodies having light-weight hatches, this construction was successful, but when it was applied to larger automobile godies with correspondingly heavier hatches, the heavier springs required to counterbalance the heavier weights caused a violent shock by the impact of the lower end of the upper strut arm at the end of its stroke against the upper end of the lower strut arm. This in turn caused damage to the car body and breakage of the strut.